Civil defense squad, cops battled 100 terrorists in Re’im before IDF arrived, probe finds

On the morning of October 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led onslaught on Israel, some 100 Palestinian terrorists reached the Gaza border community of Kibbutz Re’im, where they murdered seven civilians and abducted a further five.

The community’s well-armed and trained, but vastly outnumbered, local security team, along with several police officers, armed residents, and off-duty soldiers, made a heroic stand against the terrorists, largely preventing a widescale infiltration of the kibbutz.

Israeli soldiers from several special forces units also arrived at the kibbutz in the following hours and managed to eliminate the remaining terrorists, who had barricaded themselves in several homes.

Six Israeli soldiers and three police officers were killed battling the terrorists inside Re’im. Another three soldiers and three police officers were killed just outside the kibbutz.

On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces presented its probe into the attack on Re’im — among its detailed investigations into some 40 battles and massacres that took place during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, when about 5,600 terrorists stormed across the border, killed some 1,200 people, and took 251 hostages to Gaza.

The probe highlighted the bravery of Re’im’s local security team, which battled the terrorists, and its residents, who gave shelter to dozens of partygoers fleeing the nearby Nova music festival and worked to put out fires set by the Hamas attackers, all while the onslaught was ongoing.

The probe concluded that the IDF  “failed in its mission to protect” the residents of Re’im, mainly because the military had never prepared for such an event: an Israeli community being attacked by terrorists, as well as a widespread attack on numerous towns and army bases simultaneously by thousands of terrorists.

The probe into what happened at Re’im, carried out by Brig. Gen. Yigal Daddon — commander of the Palmachim Airbase — covered all aspects of the fighting in the kibbutz and surrounding area on October 7.

Daddon and his team spent hundreds of hours investigating the onslaught and battle at Re’im. The IDF said the investigators made visits to the scene and reviewed every possible source of information, including footage taken by terrorists with body-mounted cameras, residents’ text messages, surveillance videos, army radio communications, and interviews with survivors and those who fought to defend the kibbutz.

The Re’im probe was aimed at drawing specific operational conclusions for the military. It did not examine the wider picture of the military’s perception of Gaza and Hamas in recent years, which was covered in separate, larger investigations into the IDF’s intelligence and defenses.

In all, seven civilians and 15 members of Israeli security forces were killed fighting in and around Re’im that day. Five more civilians, including four Thai nationals, were abducted. All five were returned in hostage deals with Hamas.

A total of 17 homes in the community of 400 residents were damaged in the attack, according to the probe.

The investigation team found that because of the wide-scale attack on numerous areas simultaneously, the Gaza Division’s forces were occupied with attempting to defend the border and their military posts, and therefore no troops stationed near the Strip that morning reached Re’im. Police officers and backup troops were the only ones to reach the community.

The community’s local defense squad, whose six members were in the community when the attack began, were armed with assault rifles that were kept in their homes, along with mobile radios and military gear. The team had also received regular training by the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, Col. Asaf Hamami. (Hamami was killed battling terrorists in Kibbutz Nirim on October 7.)

The local security team “disrupted the enemy’s plans and prevented a much more severe incident,” the investigation said.

All of the murders and abductions took place within the first hour of the attack, before backup troops arrived.

The probe stated that “the battle at Kibbutz Re’im was one of the most difficult battles  [that occurred on October 7]. What prevented more severe harm was the heroism of the local security team, civilians from the kibbutz, IDF troops, and police officers.”

According to the investigation, backup troops arrived late and at random at Re’im, and without the appropriate weaponry.

However, the troops and several senior commanders, from the IDF’s elite Sayeret Matkal and Multidomain units, the Golani Brigade, and officers from the Israel Police and Israel Prison Service’s Metzada unit, engaged the terrorists and prevented them from continuing their massacre in other areas of the kibbutz.

The IDF also made use of a tank and a backhoe during attempts to kill terrorists who had barricaded themselves in a home amid the fighting.

The investigation noted that the fighting by troops and police officers outside Re’im not only prevented more terrorists from reaching the kibbutz but also stopped terrorists from heading to other targets in southern Israel, including the southern city of Ofakim and the Nevatim Airbase.

Of some 100 Hamas terrorists who attacked the Re’im area, including 80 who infiltrated the kibbutz, some 49 were killed, 22 of them in a single neighborhood.

On the bodies of some of the terrorists, the army found maps of the Nevatim Airbase, located over 70 kilometers east.

The last terrorist, who was armed with just a knife, was killed on October 10.

Timeline of the attack

At 6:29 a.m., Hamas launched an initial barrage of over 1,000 rockets at Israel, mostly aimed at Israeli military bases. No impacts hit Re’im, but the community’s defense squad was alerted.

At 6:38 a.m. the chief of the local security team notified the members that gunfire was being heard nearby, and told them to get ready. The team members split up into pairs, stationing themselves at strategic points in the community.

At 6:58 a.m., dozens of partygoers fleeing the nearby Nova music festival arrived at Re’im and locals led them to two homes and a synagogue. Other partygoers tried to take shelter at roadside bomb shelters, which Hamas attacked.

The local security officers spotted the terrorists approaching on their pickup trucks at 7:20 a.m., but did not immediately know that they were terrorists.

Meanwhile, on Route 234, a group of terrorists planning to reach the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel encountered police officers at the Urim Junction. The terrorists, after coming under fire, headed back toward Re’im.

At 7:51 a.m., the chief of the local security team notified the members that 15 terrorists had infiltrated the community via the back entrance. They were on foot because the electronic gate for vehicles was disabled by the terrorists’ gunfire.

Two members of the security team who were waiting in position opened fire on the terrorists.

Just before 8 a.m. dozens of terrorists arrived at the main entrance to Re’im, but before entering the community they spotted partygoers fleeing from the Nova party. They chased after them, murdering and abducting them, including at an infamous bomb shelter outside Re’im.

Also at the entrance to the kibbutz, Supt. Stanislav Sheinkman, 40, a member of the police’s Yamam counter-terrorism unit, was killed battling the terrorists. The terrorists took his vehicle.

While some of the terrorists continued their murder spree outside Re’im, at 8:04 a.m., some 40 entered the community after managing to open the gate at the main entrance.

Hamas terrorists are seen breaching Kibbutz Re’im on October 7, 2023. (South First Responders)

Between then and 8:30 a.m., all of the murders and abductions in Re’im took place, in the community’s “young generation” neighborhood and in the industrial area, where Thai foreign workers resided.

The terrorists first murdered Amit Gabay, 17, and abducted his friend Liam Or Nassar, 18. The terrorists then tried to abduct Assaf Febvre, 23, before murdering him.

The terrorists then abducted six Thai nationals, but after realizing they didn’t have room in their car for all of them, they murdered two: Pongsathorn Khunsri, 25, and Kiattisak Patee, 35. The other four — Anucha Angkaew, Natthaporn Onkeaw, Khomkrit Chombua, and Manee Jirachat — were taken to Gaza.

The five hostages were later freed by Hamas in hostage deals.

Hamas terrorists abduct civilians from Kibbutz Re’im on October 7, 2023. (South First Responders)

Three more murders were then carried out by the terrorists in the kibbutz: Varda Harmati, 81, Dvir Karp, 46, and Stav Kimchi, 35, the latter of whom were trying to protect Karp’s young children, Daria and Lavi.

The terrorists wrote on a wall inside their home: “Al Qassam doesn’t murder children,” before leaving. Hamas terrorists murdered around 40 children during the October 7 onslaught and abducted another 40 to the Strip.

Meanwhile, Staff Sgt. Guy Simhi, an unarmed and off-duty paratrooper who had attended the Nova party, teamed up with his friend Hadar Cohen, a member of the elite Maglan commando unit who was armed.

Another 11 partygoers who fled with Simchi remained inside one of the homes, while he and Cohen took on the terrorists.

Simhi charged at the terrorists with his bare hands, while Cohen opened fire. Together they managed to kill two terrorists, but grenades hurled at them by the attackers killed Simhi.

Meanwhile, two members of the local security team who were stationed at another entrance to Re’im, near the community’s cemetery, joined the other two members at the main entrance.

Together, the four managed to prevent the terrorists from reaching Re’im’s main residential area.

At 9 a.m., another 20 terrorists entered the kibbutz via the entrance near the cemetery. The terrorists set fire to cars, trees, and several homes. Two of the local security officers rushed back to the area and opened fire at the terrorists through the flames, causing them to flee back to Route 234.

Civilians in the kibbutz meanwhile were putting out the fires and working to save their neighborhoods, even as dozens more terrorists were inside the kibbutz.

At 9:10 a.m., several police officers — those who had been at the Urim Junction earlier — arrived outside Re’im, and began to exchange fire with numerous terrorists on the highway, including those who had just fled the kibbutz.

At 9:17 a.m., five police officers in a van who had tried to reach the Nova party got stuck on Route 234 outside Re’im. The officers tried to push through, coming under massive fire by terrorists who had staged ambushes on the sides of the road and at the junction with Route 232. The officers, who were mostly unharmed, were stuck at the junction surrounded by terrorists.

At 9:30 a.m., additional officers arrived and tried to rescue the five cops who had pushed through in their van.

At 9:37 a.m., Commander Jayar Davidov, 44, the chief of the Rahat police station, rammed his police cruiser into a group of terrorists on the highway, before being killed alongside police officers Sgt. Maj. Alexy Budovski, 39, and First Sgt. Uriel Avraham, 29.

Behind Davidov in a military vehicle were Cpt. Sahar Saudyan, the commander of an Iron Dome battery, alongside her soldier Sgt. Nativ Kuzaro, 21, and Sgt. Benyamin Gavriel Yona, 19.

The three had gone to restock their Iron Dome battery with interceptor missiles, which are stored nearby, but came under fire by the terrorists on the highway.

At 9:39 a.m., some of the police officers reached the back entrance to Re’im, killing two terrorists there.

At 9:47 a.m., the first group of police officers entered Re’im, joining the local security team. They exchanged fire with several terrorists, who fled to the young-generation neighborhood, where other terrorists were already.

At 10:13 a.m., a member of the local security team spotted another group of terrorists trying to breach into Re’im, and opened fire, killing one. The others fled back toward the junction, where the five officers were stuck.

At 10:20 a.m., a group of officers tried to flank around the kibbutz to reach the surrounded cops at the Re’im junction. En route, they passed Re’im’s main entrance, and killed five terrorists there.

At 10:30 a.m., another group of Nova partygoers arrived at the kibbutz, and a member of the security team led them to a storm drain to enter the community without being attacked by the terrorists. They were brought to a home, where they took shelter.

At 10:45 a.m., a group of IDF soldiers of the Bislamach Brigade — the IDF’s School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders in peacetime — arrived at the back entrance to Re’im, on Route 234, and pushed forward with several police officers, killing all of the remaining terrorists trying to stage ambushes on the highway.

At 11:26 a.m, the local security team and police officers began to search the kibbutz, but all of the terrorists had fled to the young-generation neighborhood in the north.

A total of 14 residents and 42 Nova partygoers were hiding in the neighborhood, while the terrorists had barricaded themselves in several homes.

At 11:41 a.m., troops of the IDF’s elite Multidomain unit entered Re’im. The troops initially had been sent to the Nova party, but decided to enter the kibbutz en route after hearing about the terrorists there.

At 11:54, a.m. additional police officers, members of the IDF’s elite Sayeret Matkal unit, and officers of the Israel Prison Service’s elite Metzada unit arrived in Re’im.

Col. Roi Levy, 44, the commander of the Multidomain unit, took charge of the battle there.

At 12:20 p.m., troops began to exchange fire with the terrorists in the neighborhood. Several were wounded. At 12:40 p.m., the Multidomain and Sayeret Matkal troops again engaged the terrorists and more of the troops were wounded. Civilians opened up the kibbutz’s clinic to treat the wounded.

At 12:45 p.m., a group of soldiers from the Golani Brigade arrived of their own accord at Re’im in their cars and almost instantly came under fire from a group of terrorists there.

At 1 p.m., Levy commanded his troops to flank around the neighborhood from two directions. As one group went around, they met the Golani soldiers who joined in the battle.

At 1:25 p.m., the troops breached into one of the homes, rescuing a resident, an off-duty soldier.

At the same time, there were several exchanges of fire with the terrorists, during which Levy and Cpt. Yotam Ben Bassat, 24, another soldier in the Multidomain unit, were killed.

At 2 p.m., Maj. Moti Shamir, 29, an officer in the Golani Reconnaissance Unit, one of the Golani troops who arrived and joined the fighting, was killed in an exchange of fire.

At the same time, police Commander Itzik Buzukashvili, 44, the chief of the Segev Shalom police station, Sgt. Maj. Yakir Blohman, 33, and two other officers arrived at the kibbutz. Hamas terrorists fired an RPG at their vehicle, killing Buzukashvili and Blohman, while the other two cops managed to escape.

At 2:30 p.m., Lt. Adir Gaory, 20, a soldier in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, was killed in an exchange of fire with the terrorists in the same neighborhood.

At 4 p.m., more IDF troops arrived at the kibbutz, and they carried out scans, but didn’t find anything as all of the terrorists were holed up inside homes in the young-generation neighborhood.

At 4:30 p.m., Maj. Ariel Ben Moshe, 27, a Sayeret Matkal officer, began to hand out tasks to the soldiers there. The troops began to close in on the homes where the terrorists were.

In the first home, the troops killed five terrorists inside, while two others fled and were killed by soldiers outside.

Several terrorists remained in at least one home. The troops opened fire on the home, blew up the window to the bomb shelter, and hurled grenades inside. Still, the terrorists inside were not yet dead.

At 7 p.m., the soldiers tried to breach into the home. During the attempt, Ben Moshe was killed.

At 8 p.m., a tank from the 77th Armored Brigade, which had fought near the Nova party, arrived at Re’im. It shelled the home where the terrorists were still holed up.

At 8:30 p.m., the troops brought a backhoe in an attempt to tear down the home while the terrorists were still inside.

At 1:30 a.m., amid the dark of night, the two final terrorists who survived the IDF’s massive fire on the home fled the building and breached into the home of one of the local security officers. He was in his bomb shelter at the time, and called the army to come quickly.

Troops of the Kfir Brigade’s Haruv reconnaissance unit rushed to the home, opened fire, and hurled grenades at the terrorists, killing both.

Overnight and during the morning of October 8, the 14 residents and 42 Nova partygoers were rescued from the homes in the neighborhood.

The last incident in Re’im was recorded on October 10 at 8 p.m., when a terrorist armed with a knife tried to attack soldiers patrolling the community. The troops killed him.